Envelope or container



NOV. 20, 1934. w w ='r 1,981,440

ENVELOPE 0R CONTAINER Filed D96. 2, 1951 1/ 11 m g F, \7| ll a I I z 1 7 I a I IZZZcz/w Kim? Patented Nov. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ENVELOPE OR CONTAINER.

Application December 2, 1931, Serial No. 578,521

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to envelopes or containers of the type used for the packaging of relatively small quantities of goods or materials, particularly perishable materials, such as edibles, or individual portions of powdered materials, such as cocoa or coffee, to be used at soda fountains or the like in the preparation of beverages.

Envelopes or containers of this character must afford complete protection to the contained materials, and also, especially if the materials are in finely powdered form, must be so constructed as to eliminate any possibility of the contents leaking or sifting out, in the ordinary handling of the envelope. At the same time, particularly in the use of such individual packages at soda fountains and the like, the envelopes or containers must permit an easy, prompt and complete discharge of their contents, with a minimum of efiort or manipulation on the part of the user.

It is not practical, in the act of opening such an envelope or container along a seam or edge of the same, to separate or pull apart the overlapping layers of the material when these layers are gluedtogether in the ordinary manner to form a closure seam along the bottom or one side of the envelope; such ordinary gluing in a relatively wide band so intimately unites the overlapped layers of the paper that an attempt to pull them apart always results in non-uniform tearing, shredding or mutilation of said layers,this very materially obstructing the quick, clean and complete opening of the container. It has heretofore been proposed to incorporate with such an envelope a rip or tearing string or cord, so arranged that, when subjected to a pull, it will cut through the material of the envelope along one edge (preferably the bottom edge) of the latter, so as to afford quickly and easily the maximum opening for the discharge of the envelopes entire contents into a cup or other receptacle. However, the use of such rip strings invariably increases the cost of such envelopes or containers, and furthermore, there is oftentimes the possibility that the contained material will be contaminated by contact with the string or cord, or, if finely powdered, will sift through at the points where the ends of the cord pass out through the envelope walls.

The present invention provides an envelope or container of the above described type, equipped with an integral pull tab along one glued seam or edge, the latter being constructed so as to provide normally the effective sealing in of the envelopes contents, but to yield uniformly throughout its entire length to a pull on said tab, whereby thereof, taken in connection with the accompany- 5 ing drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank suitable for manufacture into an envelope embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the completed envelope, made from the blank of Fig. 1, and showing the same in readiness for filling.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, illustrating the act of discharging the contents of said envelope.

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary views, illustrating modifications of the gumming of the envelope of my invention.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the difi'erent figures.

The envelope blank shown in Fig. 1 comprises a rectangular body portion 1, having opposite side flaps 2 and 3 adapted, when folded over on the lines 2' and 3', to overlap each other in the formation of the envelopes back wall,one of said flaps being gummed along its free edge, as shown at 4, so that the overlapping of this edge with the edge of the other flap produces the back wall seam 5. Also projecting from the body portion 1 is a bottom flap 6 and a closure or seal flap '7, the former having the line of fold 6 and the latter having the line of fold 7'. The side flaps 2 and 3 have lower portions 8, 8 below the line of fold 6' of bottom flap 6, so that, following formation of the seam 5 as above described,.the turning up of bottom flap 6 on the line 6' results in a fold of two thicknesses of the blank material, transversely of the envelope, this fold including the rear wall (as formed by the flaps 2 and 3) as well as the front wall of the envelope (as formed by the body portion 1). Because of this double or safety fold at the bottom, the envelope or container is entirely leak-proof at its lower corners; the contained material, no matter how finely powdered, will not sift through at these points, because when the bottom flap 6 is stuck down for its entire length, as hereinafter described, against the rear wall 2, 3, said material cannot readily get past the bottom line of fold 6'.

The sticking of the bottom flap 6 to the rear wall 2 is effected in the preferred form of my invention, by a narrow line or stripe of gum in wavelike form as shown at 9, Fig. 1, the same extending across flap 6 beyond the up-folded lower portions 8, 8 of the side flaps 2 and 3, but inwardly of a central tab or extension 10 on the free edge of flap 6. The act of pressing down and sticking the flap 6 to the rear wall 2, 3 by this waved gumming 9 completes the envelope, so far as the establishment of the double or safety fold at the bottom thereof is concerned. Such envelope, as shown in Fig. 2, is in readiness for filling by the introduction of the material at the open upper portion thereof; when the envelope has received the desired quantity of material, the gummed surface 11 of closure flap 7 is moistened, and said flap is folded down on the line 7' to adhere, over practically its entire area, to the rear wall 2, 3, thereby effectively sealing the contained material within the envelope. Owing to the fact that this folding includes also the side flap extensions 12, 12, which are integral with the seal flap 7 beyond the fold line '1', the upper corners of the envelope thus closed and sealed are effectively reinforced by an extra thickness of material, so that no leakage or sifting out of the contained material at these points is possible.

In order to effect an instant and complete discharge of the contents thus sealed within the envelope, it is only necessary for the user to pull, as shown in Fig. 3, on the free tab or extension 10 of the flap 6; such pull readily overcomes the limited adhesion afforded by the waved narrow gumming 9, and opens the bottom of the envelope across the entire width of the latter, so that the maximum opening is aiforded for the discharge of the envelope's entire contents. It is obvious, of course, that this result is secured because at all times, not only at the start of the pull, but while it is proceeding, there is such a limited effective area of adhesion across the flap 6 that the resistance thereof to the pull on tab 10 is always less than the latters resistance to tearing. That is to say, the waved gumming 9 of Fig. 1 offers practically no more resistance to the stripping loose of flap 6 than does the set or series of gummed spots 13, 13 shown. as a modified form of my invention, in Fig. 4,-because in both cases the pulling or stripping action at any given in stant meets only the limited resistance afforded by a plurality of small adhesive areas separated transversely from each other. The wave gumming 9 affords however the advantage of a complete and effective seal against accidental escape of any of the envelopes contents that might work past the edge on which the pull flap is folded.

I am aware that it is not new, in the envelope or packaging art, to employ adhesive for. lightly sticking and temporarily holding against displacement a flap or tab,such an expedient being shown, for example, in Eaton Patent No. 1,242,- 534, October 9, 1917. Such expedient involves no such continuity of adhesion between the parts so stuck as to constitute an actual sealing in of the envelopes or container's contents, and hence has no relation to my invention, in which the adhesive connection, though breakable, is nevertheless of a character to provide a sealing seam along the full length of one edge of the container.

Fig. 5 shows a further modification of the gumming for holding the flap 6 in place, and for maintaining the fold along the edge that opens up, according to my invention, for discharge of the envelopes contents; in this instance, instead of the waved gumming 9 of Fig. 1, or the spots of gum 1,3, 13, of Fig. 4, I use a very thin stripe of gum 14, whose adhesion is low enough to give way, under a pull on the flap, before any tearing of the material can occur.

The envelope or container of my invention,

when used as above described, possesses all of the advantages of a rip string envelope, with none of the latters disadvantages; the act of opening my envelope for discharge of its contents is accomplished with the utmost facility, and without danger of spilling or wasting said contents, which danger is present when said contents are sealed in an envelope of ordinary construction, that has to be torn open or torn apart to free said contents.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, an envelope or container completely sealed for the full length of one of its edges by an adhesive closure seam between two overlapped portions of the envelope material, the outer of said portions having a part of its edge left free to provide a pull tab for the opening of said seam to discharge the envelopes contents, the adhesive of said seam extending substantially the full length thereof, but being'so limited in area that its resistance to a pull on said tab is substantially lower than the resistance to tearing or shredding possessed by either of said overlapped portions, whereby a full opening of the envelope or container by such pull is effected in the absence of tearing, shredding, or mutilation of the materials constituting said seam.

2. As a new article of manufacture, an envelope or container completely sealed for the full length of one of its edges by an adhesive closure seam between two overlapped portions of the envelope material, the outer of said portions having a part of its edge left free to provide a 'pull tab for the opening of said seam to discharge the envelopes contents, the adhesive of said seam extending substantially the full length thereof, in a narrow zig-zag band or line, to reduce materially its resistance to a pull on said tab, whereby a full opening of the envelope or container by such pull is effected in the absence of tearing, shredding, or mutilation of the materials constituting said seam.

3. As a new article of manufacture, an envelope or container completely sealed for the full length of one of its edges by an adhesive closure seam between two overlapped portions of the envelope material, the outer of said portions having a part of its edge left free to provide a pull tab for the opening of said seam to discharge the envelopes contents, the adhesive of said seam extending substantially the full length thereof, in the form of a line of separated small adhesive areas, to reduce materially its resistance to a pull on said tab, whereby a full opening. of the envelope or container by such pull is effected in the absence of tearing, shredding or mutilation of the materials constituting said seam.

4. As a new article of manufacture, an envelope or container completely sealed for the full length of one of its edges by an adhesive closure seam between two overlapped portions of the envelope material, the outer of said portions having a part of its edge left free to provide a pull tab for the opening of said seam to discharge the envelopes contents, the adhesive of said seam extending overlapped portions, whereby a full opening oi the envelope or container by such pull is effected in the absence of tearing, shredding, or mutilation of the materials constituting said seam.

WILLARD E. SWIFI. 

